Nica Cason
One of Nica Cason’s last duties as Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) division chairperson was to accept a $50,000 donation from Biloxi Regional Medical Center on June 24.
“We have utilized the funds that you have given us,” Cason said to BRMC reps at the check presentation. “They have helped our students, as well as our college. Words don’t adequately express how much we do appreciate what you do for us.”
Many of Cason’s colleagues said that quote could also express their feelings toward their former leader, who recently retired after 28 years at Gulf Coast, with 23 of them in administration.
“The 39th First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, said, ‘A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.’ This quote describes Ms. Cason,” said Bobbie Loveless, who replaced Cason as division chairperson.
In July 2004, Gulf Coast consolidated the ADN programs at the Jackson County (JC) and Jefferson Davis (JD) campuses and expanded the program to the Perkinston Campus. That expansion created the ADN division.
“Since its inauguration, the division has been met with many challenges,” Loveless said. “But Ms. Cason held steadfast through it all. She kept a smile on her face and encouragement in her voice while she led us, as one division, through these obstacles. Faculty members have bonded together, and we went through our NLNAC accreditation visit with no recommendations and a glowing report, which isn’t commonplace.”
Loveless went on to say that the division has seen an increase in NCLEX scores, and according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s June 30, 2008, report, the division has the highest NCLEX pass rate of any community college in the state, 90.42 percent. “All of these things were influenced by Ms. Cason’s effective leadership. She is the epitome of a professional role model for anyone desiring to pursue a career in nursing-education administration. Her ability to inspire others to do great things is what made her an exceptional leader.”
Gulf Coast’s ADN program annually turns out 70 percent of South Mississippi’s registered nurses. Recently the college was recognized by Community College Week magazine as one of the top-100 producers of students earning degrees in associate nursing in the nation.
In 2008, Cason was nominated for the prestigious Nightingale Award, an honor that goes to the state’s top nursing educator administrator of the year, as decided by the Mississippi Nurses Association.
“Ms. Cason's ability to lead and set the standard for the ADN program is exceptional,” said Danielle Nash, nursing student at the Perk Campus. “She is a role model and mentor who has the student's best interest at heart, along with maintaining the integrity and the professionalism of the ADN program.”